House lawmakers to begin debate on tax-cut freeze

COLUMBUS (AP) — House lawmakers plan to begin debating a bill that would freeze the final round of planned income tax cuts and cut legislators’ pay by 5 percent.

The House Finance and Appropriations Committee plans to take up the legislation in a first hearing this afternoon.

Delaying the final 4.2 percent reduction in income taxes across all tax brackets would bring in an estimated $850 million in revenue. A budget hole of roughly the same size opened when Gov. Ted Strickland was forced to backtrack on his plan to put lottery-run slot machines at the state’s horse racing tracks.

House Republicans have already assailed the measure as a tax increase, but Republicans who control the Senate haven’t given a firm position.

House Speaker Armond Budish says the lawmaker pay cut is designed to show shared sacrifice.